IOWA (IRN) – The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard warning for counties north and east of the Des Moines metro area from 6 a.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Friday. A winter weather advisory is in effect for most of the rest of the state until 6 a.m. Friday. A powerful cold front will bring falling temperatures, strong winds up to 45 miles per hour and wintry precipitation starting Thursday. Significant travel hazards will be possible due to icy roads and blowing snow. Blizzard conditions are expected in north central and central Iowa, particularly in rural areas.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IRN) – The Senate Agriculture Committee approved former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack once again for secretary of agriculture. His nomination now heads to the full Senate.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Des Moines School district leaders asked the Des Moines School Board Tuesday to end its School Resource Officer program. The program started in 1999.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Employees of Des Moines Public Schools are expressing frustration that Dowling Catholic employees are getting Covid-19 vaccinations Friday from UnityPoint, while the public school teachers appointments were cancelled. The UnityPoint CEO’s son attends Dowling Catholic High School. Both Dowling and UnityPoint said his attendance played no factor in the scheduling of the clinic.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A woman from Waterloo created a Pulitzer Prize-winning project, and a Republican sponsored bill in the legislature aims to keep it out of Iowa classrooms. House File 222 would reduce funding for public schools if the New York Times Magazine’s 1619 Project was used as part of a history class. The 1619 Project is an effort to reframe United States history through slavery and shows its’ effects on the nation today. The project was led by Waterloo native Nikole Hannah-Jones.